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GCC Secretary-General to Asharq Al-Awsat: Gulf States Advancing Unified Tourist Visa

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jassim Al Budaiwi. Photo: Website of the World Economic Forum’s special meeting in Riyadh
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jassim Al Budaiwi. Photo: Website of the World Economic Forum’s special meeting in Riyadh
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GCC Secretary-General to Asharq Al-Awsat: Gulf States Advancing Unified Tourist Visa

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jassim Al Budaiwi. Photo: Website of the World Economic Forum’s special meeting in Riyadh
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jassim Al Budaiwi. Photo: Website of the World Economic Forum’s special meeting in Riyadh

Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jassim Al Budaiwi confirmed that GCC nations are working towards introducing a unified Gulf visa for global travelers.

Al Budaiwi mentioned that during their recent summit in Doha, Gulf leaders greenlit a single tourist visa for the region.

They urged the General Secretariat, along with member states, especially the Ministry of Interior representatives, to fast-track its implementation.

This move aims to allow any international visitor to explore the Gulf countries with just one visa.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s special meeting in Riyadh, Al Budaiwi expressed hope that this step would boost regional tourism and save travelers time and money.

Recent data shows that the travel and tourism sector contributed 7.8% to the GDP of GCC countries in 2022. They aim to raise this to 10% in the future.

Al Budaiwi confirmed progress on the unified visa, with discussions in their final stages among Gulf countries. He stressed the need for careful consideration due to security and technical concerns.

Regarding trade agreements, Al Budaiwi mentioned completed deals with Pakistan and South Korea last year and a recent one with Türkiye.

Talks are ongoing for a trade agreement with the UK, with discussions planned in the next two weeks.

Talks with the EU have been on hold for over a decade, but both sides are interested in resuming discussions.

“A delegation from the GCC General Secretariat will visit to initiate preliminary discussions, not negotiations, with EU representatives,” said Al Budaiwi.

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US Treasury Targets Russia's Gazprombank with New Sanctions

FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
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US Treasury Targets Russia's Gazprombank with New Sanctions

FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

The United States imposed new sanctions on Russia's Gazprombank on Thursday, the Treasury Department said, as President Joe Biden steps up actions to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine before he leaves office in January.
The move, which wields the department's most powerful sanctions tool, effectively kicks Gazprombank out of the US banking system, bans its trade with Americans and freezes its US assets, Reuters reported.
Gazprombank is one of Russia's largest banks and is partially owned by Kremlin-owned gas company Gazprom. Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has been urging the US to impose more sanctions on the bank, which receives payments for natural gas from Gazprom's customers in Europe.
The fresh sanctions come days after the Biden administration allowed Kyiv to use US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory. On Tuesday, Ukraine fired the weapons, the longest range missiles Washington has supplied for such attacks on Russia, on the war's 1,000th day.
The Treasury also imposed sanctions on 50 small-to-medium Russian banks to curtail the country's connections to the international financial system and prevent it from abusing it to pay for technology and equipment needed for the war. It warned that foreign financial institutions that maintain correspondent relationships with the targeted banks "entails significant sanctions risk."
"This sweeping action will make it harder for the Kremlin to evade US sanctions and fund and equip its military," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. "We will continue to take decisive steps against any financial channels Russia uses to support its illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine."
Gazprombank said Washington's latest move would not affect its operations. The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Along with the sanctions, Treasury also issued two new general licenses authorizing US entities to wind down transactions involving Gazprombank, among other financial institutions, and to take steps to divest from debt or equity issued by Gazprombank.
Gazprombank is a conduit for Russia to purchase military materiel in its war against Ukraine, the Treasury said. The Russian government also uses the bank to pay its soldiers, including for combat bonuses, and to compensate the families of its soldiers killed in the war.
The administration believes the new sanctions improve Ukraine's position on the battlefield and ability to achieve a just peace, a source familiar with the matter said.
COLLATERAL IMPACT
While Gazprombank has been on the administration's radar for years, it has been seen as a last resort because of its focus on energy and the desire to avoid collateral impact on Europe, a Washington-based trade lawyer said.
"I think that the current administration is trying to put as much pressure and add as many sanctions as possible prior to January 20th to make it harder for the next administration to unwind," said the lawyer, Douglas Jacobson.
Officials in Slovakia and Hungary said they were studying the impacts of the new US sanctions.
Trump would have the power to remove the sanctions, which were imposed under an executive order by Biden, if he wants to take a different stance, Jacobson said.
After Russia's invasion in 2022, the Treasury placed debt and equity restrictions on 13 Russian firms, including Gazprombank, Sberbank and the Russian Agricultural Bank.
The US Treasury has also worked to provide Ukraine with funds from windfall proceeds of frozen Russian assets.